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Category Archives: berlin

the bull has thrown the earth

27 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by separelli in berlin, lifestyle, my house, vermont

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iranian new year, norooz

last week was norooz, iranian new year, and i planned on going home to celebrate with my family. as fate would have it though, i caught a nasty cold, and a lingering fever kept me here in vermont. there are only three other iranians in the whole state. [unconfirment, but those are my feelings, and feelings, as they say, are fact.] i went over to a friends house on the day i was supposed to catch my train, and i was greeted by this.

IMG_5506she set up a haft-sin for me! that’s what i call a good friend.

IMG_5509this is our last minute haft-sin that i bought wheat grass for because i didn’t know i’d need to make my own. oppie.

IMG_3588last year’s haft-sin in berlin. eddie was in the u.k., so i actually had the hyacinth which he has banned in our house[s] because the smell makes him angry and hulk-like. also, i was sick last year too. not a theme i’d like to indulge in again.

anynow, happy new year!

fertig.

well. that was a bad idea. but then it got better.

04 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by separelli in berlin, europe, food, lifestyle, travel

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it turns out, march ended on a rough note. after that saturday night in potsdam, my lungs gave up on me. on monday, at work, i was short of breath, and i felt pretty crappy. so, i dropped in at the doctor after work, ’cause hey, it’s free!!!!! thanks to my socialized health care! [not that i don’t pay monthly for my insurance, but my subsequent doctors trips are frei, and i pay about 1/2 as much as my american health insurance costs.] it turns out, my cold/allegeries had devolved into full blown bronchitis. my american self was like, “but i can go to work tomorrow right? i’ll just be coughing?” my doctor laughed at me, and said, “no no no. you’ll be out the whole week.” i thought she was crazy. turns out, she’s omniscient. i was down for the count. ruh roh shaggy. so there i was, alone, coughing, and crying on the couch, watching WAY too much internet television. also, it was iranian new years. the first one that i’ve ever had to spend alone. but i did right by my haftseen!

IMG_3598 IMG_3588[and yes, those are painted paper fish. i can’t stomach the idea of getting live fish, having them live a bowl for a couple of weeks, and then die because i don’t have a tank/water filtration system for them. ]

then, pops decided to come and visit! so, as he’s known to do, he handed out three days notice, and then i was taking the train to tegal to pick him up! then, as a bonus, my first back at work in a week, i was greeted with a box of goodies from vermont friends!

IMG_3621IMG_3622

mostly though, i spent the next week coughing, and showing off the sights. IMG_3619i come by love of food honestly. not even a stinky subway tunnel could prevent this man from enjoying his pastry.

DSCN0382

DSCN0289IMG_3617

DSCN0329IMG_3656 IMG_3657 IMG_3660

pops as sherpa, carrying my 8kilo sewing machine to the shop to get repaired. i carried it by myself last time, and was thus comfortable taking a cab this time around, but pops would have non of it.

DSCN0383i carried the pedal. it was hard work.

IMG_3650feel better flowers from me, to me!

DSCN0249new apartment building…

we took a berlin “feel good” tour of the wwll monuments, the wall, etc.

DSCN0254

i won’t say i was looking better, but i was feeling better. DSCN0259 DSCN0260DSCN0290IMG_3634 IMG_3636IMG_3662IMG_3625 IMG_3626

on his last day here, the weather cooperated, it was sunny, gorgeous, and sunday. the best day in berlin. flohmarkts!!!IMG_3678 IMG_3680 IMG_3684his visit ended with a trip to a delicious iranian restaurant.

fertig.

oh what a night.

16 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by separelli in berlin, europe, lifestyle

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pirate party, postdam, singing cab

last night was good. it was great really. this morning however, has reminded me that in the words of dean & britta, singing the immortal words of the velvet underground,   “i’m not a young man anymore.” it’s noon, and i’m still in bed coughing, and contemplating get up.

my friend anne called me asked me if i wanted to go to potsdam, a suburb in the outer ring of berlin, with her to go to a party that the werkhaus was throwing. [the werkhaus is an artist residency project that our friend renee works with/on. i’m not going to go into detail, because i’m not sure of the details… but anne and her husband richard are designing a dope building on the premises ] anne & renee both were exchange students in cincinnati who lived with me in a group house. happily, i’ve been seeing a bit of anne since moving to berlin, but last night was the first night i’ve seen renee since 2001. zoinks.

i impulsively said “yes” when anne asked, though i had some re-thinking as i’ve been laid out with a cold since thursday. but i thought “hey, live a little”

thus i found myself on a saturday night, in the western suburbs of berlin at dancing my a#* off till 1am to techno/regge/ska surrounded by people in pirate costumes [friend fail: anne didn’t tell me it was a pirate themed party, so we had to pay to get in.] it was really fun, and as anne pointed out, there weren’t very many young people there, so we didn’t feel old! [until i said at 1:00, i’ve gotta go. i want to be in bed by 3:00] anne and joa, her portuguese friend visiting, were still dancing hard, so i felt guilty asking to leave. but then this happened on the train ride home. and i didn’t feel bad anymore. IMG_3561IMG_3559[living my “goodbye lenin” fantasy. [but holy crap, that must have been a really expensive cab ride that daniel bruhl took from east berlin to wansee, it’s a 40 minute train ride]]

but ladies and gentleman, as fun as my night was, the cab ride home was the cherry on top. i hopped into a cab at alexander platz thinking that it was a japanese woman driver. i was wrong, it was a japanese man with the most luxurious long hair i have ever seen, and it did awaken feelings of real jealousy in me. it’s a fantastically berlin thing, the minute you get into a cab, no matter what the driver was previously listening to, they turn it to a station that plays dance music. so here i am, 2:45, tired, and ready to be in bed, when my cab drivers turns the station, and the eurythmics start playing. the driver began to whistle along, so i thought, “why not?” and started to sing along. so we drove through the city, whistling, and singing, but never actually speaking to each other. it was four song cab ride.

fertig.

more subway signs.

20 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by separelli in berlin, europe, lifestyle, travel

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subway signs

i post these on instagram, but in the event that you don’t follow me, [what????[please note the sarcasm]], here they are! L1000646#6 L1000644#6b, the original name from before WWll IMG_4685nooooo! be careful, it’s slippery.  IMG_3327#7IMG_3329 #7b   IMG_3256#8 IMG_3212#9 IMG_3190#10 IMG_3188#11 IMG_3154#12

IMG_3259#12b

IMG_3152#13 [as of next Wednesday, our very own new train stop!] IMG_1640#14 IMG_1645#15 [Our stop till Wednesday…] IMG_1655 #16IMG_1721 #17IMG_1731#18 IMG_1796#19 IMG_1798 #20IMG_1800 #21IMG_1806#22 IMG_1821 #23IMG_1822#24 IMG_1828#25 IMG_1862 #26IMG_1864#28 IMG_1939#29 IMG_2012#30 [amsterdam] IMG_2017#30b IMG_2019 #30cIMG_2197 #31IMG_2227#32 [budapest] IMG_2236 #33 [hungary]IMG_2617 #34 [zurich]IMG_2723 #35

IMG_3117#35b [my personal favorite.]

IMG_2721#35c

IMG_2762#36 IMG_2827#37 IMG_2829#37b IMG_2862#38 IMG_2916#39 IMG_2938#40 IMG_3064 #40b

fertig.

like rapunzel. only, i get to leave the house whenever i want.

10 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by separelli in berlin, europe, lifestyle, sewing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

crafting, pen pal, quilts

lest you think i’ve been lazy in my months of relative quiet [sorry, i will try to be better about posting goings on], here’s what’s what on the berlin crafty front.

IMG_4523baby river’s quilt.  IMG_4525 IMG_4526 IMG_4539 IMG_4565 IMG_4566 gift for my best pal, grandma rogee. not her real name, but my friend roger’s grandmother. she’s amazing. in her mid-90’s and still crafting. we currently have an international craft exchange going on. her last package to me included some artwork, and a handmade notebook. IMG_4588 IMG_4589 IMG_4592IMG_2931we made all our christmas ornaments this year. full credit for the popcorn string goes to the mister.  IMG_4622 IMG_4626 IMG_4629 IMG_4634 IMG_4637 IMG_4638 IMG_4642 IMG_4645 IMG_4648 IMG_4649quilts for jayce and jax, my step-sister’s twin boys! that makes four! each one as cute as the last, so that’s good.  IMG_4652 IMG_4654 IMG_4722 IMG_4723 IMG_4726 IMG_4728 IMG_4729 IMG_4732last, but not least, baby max to be’s quilt. his parents have helped us a ton since we moved to berlin. also, marcus had introduced us to all our favorite t.v. shows. thanks to leslie knope, my life will never be the same. thanks to marcus, leslie knope became a part of my life.

fertig!

snow day!

09 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by separelli in berlin, europe, lifestyle

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berlin, snow

while on lunch break at work, i was waxing philosophic about my love of snow, when a new to me friend anna said with surprise, “but you hate vermont!” this is a perfect opportunity to explain, i love snow, i love sledding, i love bleeding heart liberals aka bernie sanders, i love our vermont friends, and miss them terribly. i do not miss having to drive 45 minutes to see a movie, walking the four streets in town deserted at sun down, having five restaurants to chose between. in short, if vermont were a city, i’d be pretty happy there. alas, the state is a really small town. not my jam.

that said, SNOW!!!!!!!!!! it was the first substantial snow storm we’ve seen in berlin. it’s 46 degrees today, and sunny, so i figured now that was perfect time for a “last week” retrospective.

when i got home from work, i badgered my hard working man to leave the house and tromp in the snow before his flight to 75 degree mexico city. lame.

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a good three inches when i got out of work!IMG_4664sledding on the “hill” by our house. there are almost no hills in berlin.  IMG_4667he’s always blurry in photographs. my cousins are convinced he’s a ghost.  IMG_4668 IMG_4669 IMG_4670  IMG_4673 IMG_4674the same fist that’s on our wall back in the states! IMG_4675 IMG_4676  IMG_4679 IMG_4680  IMG_4682 IMG_4683 IMG_4684 IMG_4685 “Be careful, it’s slippery.”
IMG_4686
IMG_4687 IMG_4688 IMG_4690 IMG_4691 IMG_4692 IMG_4693 IMG_4694 IMG_4695 IMG_4696 IMG_4699 IMG_4700 IMG_4701 IMG_4702 IMG_4703 IMG_4704 fairy tale theater. super cool. we have tickets for the end of february. IMG_4707 IMG_4708 we don’t have our sled here in berlin, so i had to make due with whooshing down the snowy slides  IMG_4710 IMG_4711   IMG_4714 IMG_4716 IMG_4717 IMG_4718eddie’s postmodern hat. snow on a hat composed of the map of ski trails.

fertig!

as seen in berlin

26 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by separelli in berlin, europe, lifestyle, travel

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been running around, working, playing and the like. but here are some snaps of the city starting with last weeks first real snow of the year. monday we had an ice storm. it was epic. apparently the ambulances were so overwhelmed by the injured walkers of berlin, that they had to send police cars out to pick up people who fell. daaaamn. then on tuesday, we go some snow. IMG_4662nailed it.  IMG_4660 IMG_4659 IMG_4657 IMG_4655 IMG_3211 IMG_3209 IMG_3207you can’t see it, because it’s insidious, there is ice over everything in this photo. even the grass was like an ice rink. a bumpy ice rink. IMG_3199 IMG_3197 IMG_3195 IMG_3193what? is that some blue sky? fun fact: january has an average of 43 hours of sunlight in the entire month. gulp.  IMG_3191 IMG_3189 IMG_3187 IMG_3183 IMG_3181our christmas tree, curbside awaiting pick up. my heart hurts. i miss her already.  IMG_3178 IMG_3162 IMG_3157 IMG_3155 IMG_3153 IMG_3151 IMG_3131 IMG_3120 IMG_3116 IMG_3104 IMG_3098 a peek of the inner wall. there is a part of the wall that has been preserved near our house. IMG_3091 IMG_3076 IMG_3070  a friend’s son running from us at the park that was until recently an airport. IMG_2937 IMG_2865 IMG_2861 IMG_2858 IMG_2835 IMG_2828 IMG_2826fertig.

exploding into a cloud of christmas butterflies.

25 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by separelli in berlin, europe, lifestyle, travel

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christmas, markets, wine

i. love. christmas.
seriously.

and germany is christmas paradise. i’m talking decorations, outdoor christmas markets complete with glühwein, spiked hot cocoa, grilled meats, handmade goods, rides, and wooden winter scenes. it’s all just so amazing.

it’s also possible that the mister isn’t so into christmas, and all things sparkly as i am. it’s probably even true. so put your hands together for the man who not only endured, but from time to time even secretly enjoyed the madness. though he did one day inform me, after we had been to two markets in one day, that he felt like i was “water boarding him with snow flakes.” it’s also possible that he inherited the sicilian drama gene. fresh food, drinks, music. oh the horror.

L1000805 L1000804 L1000803 L1000802 L1000801 that’s right. those were of a medieval christmas market in siegburg. blam!L1000793 L1000792 L1000790 L1000789 L1000788 L1000787 L1000786bonn L1000783 L1000782 L1000781 L1000770 L1000769 L1000768 L1000767 L1000766 L1000765 kripe IMG_2955 IMG_2953 IMG_2951 IMG_2950 cologne IMG_2931 our christmas tree, completely handmade decorations. popcorn tibbon compliments of one eddie. IMG_2928 IMG_2912 IMG_2909 IMG_2905 IMG_2901 IMG_2899 do i detect a genuine smile???IMG_2897 IMG_2895 IMG_2893 IMG_2891 IMG_2883 IMG_2881 IMG_2874 IMG_2868 IMG_2866 IMG_2843 IMG_2842 IMG_2841these were all various markets around berlin.

rockin’ around the weihnachtsmarkt!

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fertig.

hamsterdam [what? i love “the wire.”]

10 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by separelli in berlin, europe, lifestyle, museums., travel

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anne frank, canals, chocolate, houseboat

our first inter-european trip!

we decided to go back to amsterdam and try to erase last years 22 hour layover hell from our hearts and minds. as you might imagine, i wasn’t too pleasant with 48 hours of flying freak out to get from berlin to new jersey. you might want to do the reasonable thing, and point out “hey, you were going to new jersey, why wouldn’t you be nauseated and miserable?” but, let’s not forget, and i am an air travel nuttso.

back to the present. sort of. in april, i was digging around on the olde internts trying to find us a hotel in amsterdam for our anniversary weekend. [last year we were so demoralized by our dinning out options in vermont, that we just stayed in and had gnocchi for our anniversary. this year? we would triumph.] i happened upon a consortium of hotels that were houseboats!!! dope.

so, back to the future. we hopped on a morning train on a cold and grey berlin morning, and rolled into sunny warm amsterdam in the afternoon. our houseboat was a mere five minute walk from the main train station, so we were setup in a flash. i won’t say that our houseboat was glorious, the photos were clearly taken 13 years ago before things had gotten run down, but it was clean, and pretty cool.

mostly we walked around the city. we walked for hours everyday. the weather was perfect, the people friendly, and drivers went a reasonable speed through the city streets. it was everything berlin is not. it was a wonderful five days. please note, i love berlin. it’s just not an overwhelming friendly place. it’s not rude, it’s just not nice.

IMG_1943volkswagen plant in wolfsburg.

IMG_1949first glimpse of the netherlands!

IMG_2148 L1000650IMG_2131narrowest house in the netherlands. it now houses an s&m shop.

IMG_1958 IMG_1953IMG_2073faith in dike systems. good luck with that.

IMG_1975IMG_2136what??? blood street?

IMG_1965we fooooound them. only 5 outdoor tables in the whole city. phewet. berlin is cooler.

IMG_1998i really feel that i assimilated.

IMG_1978IMG_1961little bit of street art. nothing like in berlin though.

L1000704lawrence wiener show.

L1000655uhhh. cool interactive exhibit in the stedelijk museum

IMG_2063IMG_2018 IMG_2011train ride to dinner.

we also went to the anne frank house, which is a pretty amazing space, but you can’t take photos, so i can’t share images with you. 1 in 16 dutch jews lived through the holocaust, compared to between 1 in 4, or 1 in 6 german jews. admittedly, that is a somewhat misleading set of numbers, because half the jewish population of germany fled with the rise of the third reich, some to the netherlands. even so, 1 in 16 is an appalling number. it would seem that the dutch resistance didn’t really come into action until the german army started to conscripted dutch men into the military in the later days of the war.

of course, there were a number of people who worked against the nazi’s from the start, and there were an estimated 300,000 people in hiding who cared for by around 200,000 protectors.

mostly, i left the anne frank house astounded by the will of her father otto.

 

IMG_2079at first i laughed at the “slave free” branding. then i saw their promo video. then i cried. buy slave free chocolate. if the dutch can manage, you can manage.

IMG_2001IMG_2072also, this chocolate is deeeeeeellliiicciouuuuuusssss. yum. essentially, “free trade,” but a truly thoughtful company.

all in all, we had an amazing time in amsterdam, but i was very happy to get back to grumpy, ping pong playing, graffitied, grey and drizzling berlin. i like a city with a little bite. nur ein bißchen.

fertig.

 

my fingers fly yet

24 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by separelli in berlin, birthdays!, sewing

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birthdays, crafting, cross stitching, felt, quilts

so. with the fun of finally being back in a city, and having lots to do, see and explore outside of my house, i have not forsaken afternoons with German TV programs [later about that] sewing my man-hands off. IMG_1282 IMG_1283 IMG_3802 IMG_3806 IMG_3812 IMG_3813the first project that i got started on was a baby quilt for our good friends back in vermont, joyce & ben. joyce made a pillow with this very same triangle fabric a few months ago. so, when i ran into it [hello old friend] in a fabric store here in berlin, i knew i had the backing for the quilt.

IMG_1281also, i burned the crap out of my arm while ironing this here sweet cuddly baby quilt. evil. the scar seems as though it’s here to stay as it’s a dark chocolate brown two months later. they say love hurts. now i know it’s true.

IMG_3821IMG_3819i also the baby a cross stitch of the alternative pledge of allegiance that ben was taught as an elementary school boy. it was written by his librarian dorothy vickers-shelley. she seems to have been a really amazing woman.

my next two projects were to celebrate the birth of some about 30 some odd years ago. i made eddie a travel backgammon set. we traveled lightly with our games for our year in berlin, but we LOVE to play most things. so i figured a compact set would easy enough to get back home.

IMG_3815 IMG_3816 IMG_3817IMG_3826 IMG_3827 IMG_3828 IMG_3831 IMG_3832 IMG_3834 IMG_3840then, after eddie started a fierce whining campaign, i made him a felt ipad carrier.

IMG_3843 IMG_3844 IMG_3845i can’t get away from felt it seems.

fertig.

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